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The great author (and Hall of Fame drunkard) Charles Bukowski wrote:

"Potential... doesn't mean a thing. You've got to do it. Almost every baby in a crib has more potential than I have."

Bukowski probably wasn't thinking about baseball players when he wrote this passage in the novel, "Women," but he certainly captured the essential challenge of projecting major league prospects. After all, talent is just one part of the equation in life as well as baseball. Ability means nothing if there is no work ethic applied to shape it into the refined skill it can be. This is why many talented prospects flounder or plateau at the big league level while less talented but harder working players flourish. Hard work trumps talent most every time.

This...

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